Jumpstorm's Story
by I-really-hope-not
Summary: Just a couple little oneshots I wrote in like half an hour about an OC that will appear later in one of my stories. Enjoy! Jumpstorm is the one cat who doesn't seem to know what she's the best at. Everyone is moving on with their lives, but she's just floating, lost in time. This is her story and the stories of the cats around her.
1. Chapter 1: Jumpstorm

**This is just a little story that came to me. Tell me if you want me to continue or not or something.**

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There were four of us. All she-cats, the only of our litters. Our names were Palekit, Dawnkit, Cedarkit, and finally me. Jumpkit. Funny name right? My mother named me after how I would "jump" in her stomach when she was carrying me. I was the brave one, the one who talked back to warriors and got caught trying to sneak out of camp most often. I was the one who warriors laughed about. _I_ was the one who was going to be leader someday. As we grew, and became apprentices, Palepaw showed an innate ability to hunt. Nothing got past her, and she was the one who brought back the most prey. Dawnpaw was the fighter, she could win against the most battle-hardened rouge, even as an apprentice. Cedarpaw became the medicine cat apprentice, and healed warriors. All were good, great even, at what they did. Me? What did I do? I wasn't anything. I was never last, but never first. Not good enough to warrant excessive praise, not bad enough to prompt extra tutoring. Just, there. That was me. Oh, occasionally I would catch a rabbit or something in a spectacular way, maybe get a good blow in during training, something to make my mentor's eyes spark with hope that I was just a late bloomer, that I was finally showing my skills as that bright little kit, prancing across the camp, doing nothing but dancing with the wind and catching leaves in the clumsy kit way.

"Jumppaw!" My ears pricked as Falconbreeze, my mentor called me from the clearing which we were delegated to start from, it was a hunting assessment. Palepaw sat there, with her little pile of fresh-kill, Dawnpaw sat there with Hailpaw-one of the other apprentices and chatted. Cedarpaw looked uncomfortable with her bird, blood staining her muzzle. I was hiding, just about to pounce on a fat squirrel, but the loud call made it start. Leaping, I caught it with my claws, leaving long scratches down its back and finished it with a bite to the neck.

"Coming!" I dug up my sparrow that I caught before and trotted out of the brush, my catch hanging from my mouth.

Falconbreeze snorted, waving his tail in annoyance when he saw my messy catch.

"Come on Jumppaw." I followed the cream and brown tom back to camp, and putting my catch down on the pile and quietly retiring to the apprentices den, the days shame just piling on. Never good enough, never fast enough, never strong enough, never big enough.

"Jumppaw?" Palepaw drew my attention back to the conversation. We had just had our final assessment, and we were all tired. "Staring at Elmpaw again?"

The others purred while I stuttered and tried to form a cohesive answer.

"It's okay." Dawnpaw purred. "He likes you too."

My fur grew hot at the thought of the handsome pale brown tom liking me. Me! My pelt was an ugly patchwork of black, white and grey. The only tortoiseshell in the group, and one of a pawful in the entire Clans, I was self-conscious of my pelt. Why couldn't I have been born with a creamy grey pelt like Palepaw? Or the elegant earth-brown of Dawnpaw, with her white paws always meticulously clean. StarClan, even Cedarpaw's black and brown patches would have been an improvement!

Our warrior ceremony was nothing big, Palepaw becoming Palefrost, Dawnpaw Dawnstrike. Cedarpaw had become Cedardusk the day before. Hailpaw was now Hailspots and Elmpaw, Elmpaw was Elmfoot. My name was Jumpstorm. At least it wasn't something like Jumpleap. That would have been embarrassing.

Time passed, battles were fought. Things changed. Elmfoot and I slowly drew closer and queens hinted at kits. Dawnstrike had an apprentice. Palefrost was a revered hunter now, even more so once she caught a whole family of rabbits over the course of the day, stalking their tunnel. Me? I drifted away, closer to Elmfoot and no one other. I was the one with no defining skills still. Elmfoot was a rising candidate for deputy. I gradually drew away from him, although we continued to love each other, we agreed that it was for the best. He eventually fell for Roseheart, a ginger she-cat with no morals and many toms after her.

"Jumpstorm?" It was Palefrost. "Jumpstorm, you're spacing out again."

"Sorry." I blinked myself out of my thoughts, focusing on the conversation happening in the clearing. Palefrost, Dawnstrike, Cedardusk and Hailspots looked at me expectantly. "What?"

"What did you do over the past moon?" Cedardusk asked me patiently. "We all did stuff we're proud of."

"Eh. Nothing." I shrugged my shoulders, the tri-colored fur rippling.

"It's Elmfoot isn't it?" Hailspots pushed, her blue eyes kind. "It's not your fault, he's just being a mouse brain! You're a wonderful cat-"

"That's not why we fell apart!" My temper exploded, I was so done with having things assumed about me! "We agreed that it was for the best! Stop talking to me and actually listen to what I'm trying to tell you!"

"Then you should talk more!" Dawnstrike looked horrified at the harsh words that erupted out of her mouth. That was the final straw.

"Well maybe I'm not talking because I don't care about looking the best, being the best, what Sunfeather has done today, how Palefrost caught more prey that her previous record! I am afraid I may have said more things, most of which I regret. Spinning around, I stalked off into the bushes. I broke into a run, and didn't stop until I crossed out of the familiar ThunderClan scent marks. Standing on the ThunderPath edge, I hesitated, only to push aside my fears and race forwards, leaving some of my fur and blood behind on some shattered...clear stuff. I reached the Twolegplace border and stopped. Chest heaving, I panted, struggling to catch my breath.

"Hey!" I whirled, claws out, ready to attack the cat who spoke, only to look down and see a self-important little kittypet scowling at me. "Get your matted fur our of my way!"

"You get your tiny pelt out of mine and maybe I'll spare your life!" I hissed back.

"Like you could do anything to the great Ronaldo!" The tom bragged.

I am not ashamed to admit that I killed him. He was the first of many cats in the Twolegplace. James, Heath, Rosie, Petal, their names blurred together, some arrogant and condescending, others simply trying to tell me that there was a killer on the loose. Kits were my favorite to kill. So sweet and innocent, they didn't know enough to scream. Eventually a familiar feeling began to creep up on me. It was a feeling of stifling imprisonment. I felt a longing, a longing to re-enter the forest I had once left. I had wandered up to the scent line more than once, my paws carrying me along a familiar path. Eventually, I could no longer bare it, and slipped back into the forest. Wandering the forest, paws sliding soundlessly over dead leaves and bounding over rocks.

"Excuse me." A polite mew interrupted my thoughts and I spun, reflecting wryly on how it had all begun. Standing before me was a small tom, ginger and pale brown, amber eyes shining at me. For a moment, I was standing back on front of a similar tom- sans the ginger.

"Elmfoot?" I whispered. The tom smiled at me.

"That's my father!" He mewed cheerfully. "I'm Jumppaw, the medicine cat apprentice!"

"Jumppaw?"

He nodded.

"Roseheart didn't want to name me that, but Elmfoot insisted. Something about lost destinies and hearts...maybe something about a storm? It makes Cedardusk really sad, that story."

He didn't notice as I crept closer, until I pounced and bowled him over.

"Don't tell anyone you saw me and I'll spare your life." I hissed at him. His eyes dilated and Jumppaw nodded quickly. "Go back to camp, ask Elmfoot about that story. Then come back here. I'll find you."

"But how will I find you?" His whisper nearly made me flinch. He sounded so much like Elmfoot!

"I'll find you." Releasing him, I melted back into the leaves. Returning to the Twolegplace nest I had made, I curled up. There was an unfamiliar feeling in my chest. Remorse. Finally letting years of despair out, I wailed my anger and frustration out into the darkening sky. I had left the world I needed. I was finally the best. The best betrayer. The best at failing. The best at killing. That little kit dancing in the wind was gone, and a cat who cried into it remained. My name is Jumpstorm and I am the only cat I know who killed themselves.


	2. Chapter 2: Elmfoot

**Second chapter because SilverflowerXRavenpaw requested it. I admit, I'm getting drawn into this.**

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My name is Elmfoot. You may know me as the deputy of ThunderClan. That is not important right now. This is my version, my version of a story of a she-cat who was driven away from a home because she was pressured-no, conditioned- conditioned by her Clanmates that she was not good enough. Her friends were the best- the healer who single-pawed saved the Clan from an epidemic of greencough, the hunter who could catch anything-anything but the torment her friend was going through- the fighter who could win against anything. This she-cat? Her name I will not speak. I will not speak it for shame, shame that _I_ dared to let such a beautiful, wonderful, _talented_ cat suffer alone. She was the best hider, if she was not to be found, rest assured that you wouldn't. They were the four, the healer, the hunter, the fighter, the scout. Oh, this she-cat was a wonderful scout. Her pelt, black, white and grey blended perfectly into the background. I loved her, that I will freely admit, but I let her drift from me, and in return for my failure, abandoned her for a ginger she-cat who lured me in with honeyed words about my status in the Clan.

 _"I love you Jumpstorm..." My amber eyes searched her green. StarClan, she was beautiful. But I knew that such an...untalented cat would not help me become deputy. "But...I think it would be better for us to be friends..."_

 _The crushed look on her face broke my heart-no, my spirit. My son, Jumppaw said that he spoke to her in his dreams, that she said that she was the best now. The best betrayer. That is not true. I am the best betrayer. I am the best a breaking hearts, shattering dreams. Aren't I such a good, upstanding cat?_

 _"Oh." Her words wobbled under the sadness that they conveyed. I wanted to cry. I was throwing away my future with her! "Yes...you'll never be deputy with me around."_

 _"Friends?" I asked, my voice hesitant._

 _"Friends." Her voice cracked. She looked so destroyed, then she burst out into laughter. "Oh look at me, I'm such a fool. Crying over something as trivial as this!"_

I was so relieved that she didn't kill me at that moment, that I treated her simply as a Clanmate I vaguely knew from then on. Perhaps that's why she left, and was run over on the ThunderPath. She was treated as an outsider in the most inclusive Clan. I remember the day we found her, that beautiful fur battered and matted with blood, her spine and ribs crushed, green eyes staring emptily at us.

 _"Holy StarClan!" Shadepaw yelped, I turned, my nose wrinkling at the foul smell of the ThunderPath, only to find the young apprentice staring at a mass of black, white, and red fur. The eyes of the dead cat were open, and I nearly screamed. I recognized her. Of course I did. She walked my dreams every night, purring, forgiving me for what I did. But it wasn't her. Just a figment of my imagination. This was real._

What for? What for you ask? What for did I leave this cat I loved so? Ambition. My own pride and ambition stopped me from loving her more than I did, pushed me to let her drift and not hold her tight and never let go. I let her go, with nothing but thoughts of faint regret. I eventually settled down with another she-cat. Roseheart. Even now, my lip curls at the thought of the she-cat who seduced me away from my heart, who bore me one kit, then left for another tom. The only thing that prevents me from killing her in cold blood is Jumppaw. My son. Oh my son, who is ginger and light brown. Oh my son, who should have white and grey and black in his pelt. Who's eyes should be Jump- the she-cat's lively green eyes should be shining back at me from his face.

 _"What was that story?" Jumppaw's amber eyes are misty as he peers back into his memory. "That one about the cat you named me after?"_

 _"Go away!" I snapped, oh, you cannot imagine the anguish his words brought me! Yet I told him, his face stilling and his tail drifting down to rest on the ground._

 _"You let her go for ambition?" Was his only question._

 _"Yes." My mournful reply caused him to pin his ears back._

 _"Then you are a fool!" His reply shook me. Jumpstorm used to call me a fool, back when comparing intelligence was important._

She and I. The phrase hurts so much. She called herself the fool for being upset that I was separating myself from her. In reality, I was the fool.

 _"I'm smarter than you!" The light brown kit brags, flicking his tail, amber and yellow eyes dancing with amusement. "I'm smarter than all of you- even Jumpkit!"_

 _"Kiss my tail mouse-brain!" The tortoiseshell shot back from the other end of the den. Even then she had a habit of swearing._

 _"Woah!" Dawnkit shouted, eyes merry. "Language!"_

 _"He offered insult to my person." Jumpkit snorted. And I laughed. "He is a fool."_

I had bi-colored eyes- you might remember that. We all did, the cats of the prophecy. Mine changed back to plain amber once we returned, prophecy complete. I remember her telling me how pained she was when I left, and how handsome my new eyes were. I remember the anguish I felt when she left. I remember all my anguish. Yet I don't remember all the anguish she must have felt. I think I'm going insane with all honesty- I must have gone insane long ago to leave her. Once, for a quest and I had to be forced to go by my leader. Then again, for a cat who never really loved me.

 _"I'm not going to be your mate anymore." Roseheart's statement shocked me. Her brown eyes- once so beautiful and mysterious now were bland, flat, swirling with unfathomable reasons._

 _"Wha- why?"_

 _"You're lost in your head, obsessing over a dead cat. There's no more room in your heart for me now."_

 _And with that she turned away, the five moon old Jumpkit watching with confusion._

My name is Elmfoot. I was deputy of ThunderClan, the subject of a prophecy, and the indirect killer of the cat I loved. My leadership ceremony was probably the only time a Dark Forest cat was in StarClan.

 _"What is she doing here?"_

 _"Dark Forest cat!"_

 _"Meadowpath." The offending she-cat bowed her head, pelt sans stars. "May I attend your son's leadership ceremony in your stead?"_

 _The brown tabby queen didn't hesitate._

 _"Of course." A wry smile graced her face. "You love him and he loves you."_

 _My love gifted me a life of loyalty. Loyalty of all things._

I am only now willing to say her name in anything but my mind. Her name was Jumpstorm, and she was the only cat I ever knew who dared to defy StarClan. And me? My name is Elmstar, formerly Elmfoot. I am the hated leader of ThunderClan, lover of a known Dark Forest cat, subject of a prophecy and indirect killer of the cat I loved. Anything else special about me? I am the only leader who would rather be in the Dark Forest than leading.


	3. Chapter 3: Four of them

**I thought I should write this. Please leave a review if you want to request a chapter with the cat's name and basic direction that it's going to go. Thanks to everyone who is sticking with me for this.**

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Dear Jumpstorm,

Yes, I regret everything. Everything that I could have said, everything I could have done to make you feel more comfortable. You always pushed yourself too far, whether playing as a kit, hunting and fighting as an apprentice, living as a warrior, if you weren't the best by a clear fox-length, then you just simply weren't good enough. Even the skills you had, like hiding, scouting, were dismissed because they were "too ShadowClan". The thing is, we don't care if you were the best or not, you are our friend, and that's good enough. Cedardusk is beating herself up about this. Palefrost is mourning you as if you were dead. Hailspots is running herself ragged and Elmfoot is at risk of leaving the Clan too. Please, come home, safe and sound. Please. I beg of you.

Love,

Dawnstrike

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Dearest Dawnstrike,

I understand. I understand that your pain is as great as mine, but I cannot return. I cannot return to see the pain I have brought upon my former Clan and my friends. So, I am making to agonizing choice that I will stay away. I will stay away, and with hope you can slowly forget me. I was a failure, an experiment that didn't work out. Why do you think that my parents had a second litter? I am the disappointment. I am the stain upon our Clan's history here. I'm sorry. I really am. Good bye.

My sincere apologies,

Jumpstorm

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Dear Jumpstorm,

For a cat who's so smart, you are a fool. You are not the stain upon our Clan. I am. I am the medicine cat who failed to see something growing in you and treat it. Your parents had a second litter because they knew that you would be such a great addition to the Clan that if they had more, the Clan would become invincible. You are but one cat. One cat cannot change the course of StarClan's destined path. Please, I beg of you again. Return and we will forget this incident, not you.

Love,

Cedardusk

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Dear Cedardusk,

Bluestar, Firestar, Crookedstar, Bramblestar. I am the villain in all of your stories. Tigerstar, Thistleclaw, Brokenstar, Mapleshade. Leave me be. I wish not to hurt you, but if I must I will. Let me fade from your memories. This is what I beg of you. Forget me and this "incident". The Clan will grow and flourish without me. You've saved the Clan from greencough single pawed. How will you save them when there is no cat to save? I managed to make myself disappear for the most part, I can make others do so. Don't test me. As of now I live, but the flick of a claw or a single step in the wrong direction could change that. My death is not my own, and if you do not let this go my final act will be vengeance.

Respectfully,

Jumpstorm

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Dear Jumpstorm,

What do you mean "wrong direction"? Are you planning to kill yourself? You would have had to jump in front of a monster for that to happen. Why would you do that? Elmfoot is shattered. Cedardusk nearly jumped off a cliff. Dawnstrike refuses to let anyone near her, and I fear she has been gnawing her paws again. Hailspots is wandering around camp in a haze of sadness. Your brothers are mourning a cat they barely knew. Isn't this enough? Even in absence you cause pain. Please, send a sign. If not, then we will rejoice, for you are still alive.

Love,

Palefrost

P.S. The cats you listed followed their destinies. Come home.

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Dear Palefrost,

You were my best of friends. You understood everything I was trying to say and what I could not. We confided in each other and fought side by side. I betrayed that. I caused you pain. But first, you caused me pain. Yes, my leaving may have been abrupt and sudden, but inside, inside I had been stagnating since apprenticeship. You know I am a cat of the shadows Palefrost. But answer me this; what happens to the cat of shadows when it is forced into the light? Do not rejoice anything about me except for my absence. I am not something you want remembered.

Sincerely,

Jumpstorm

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Dear Jumpstorm,

I am a cat of action. I am the one who is constantly in motion, leaping, running, fidgeting. You were-are- the opposite of me. You could sit and wait for days on end, just to prove the point. You _were_ the best, and StarClan only know how you've improved. You asked a question, last time we messaged. The answer is simple; the cat becomes the light, for the shadows burn away to form the true beauty of life. We found you on the ThunderPath yesterday. You never gave the light a chance to shine inside you. Where ever you are now, I hope the light shines as bright as it should, and drown out the stars so we can find you.

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 _Deleted message_

Dear Jumpstorm,

We love you. We're sorry we couldn't save you. We refuse to forget you and let you live a happy oblivion. You will have to live alongside us, from the heavens, because we are not ready to let you go just yet. Enjoy StarClan.

Love,

Cedardusk, Palefrost, Dawnstrike, Hailspots

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My name is Dawnstrike. I am the feared warrior of ThunderClan. I can beat anything, or so they say. That is not true. I cannot beat StarClan, or the thousand evils SkyClan faced in their long journeys. I cannot defeat Death of its hold over a cat. I fought off a fox all on my own. I am a fabled warrior, or so they say. I am not. I am the vulture of the battlefield. I am the warrior who fights because they must, for no other reason that I enjoy the screech of cats and the tang of blood. I am the vassal of Destruction. My name is Dawnstrike, and my life is a lie. They say that alongside me, no cat can lose. So what happens to the cats against me?

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My name is Cedardusk. I am the revered medicine cat of ThunderClan. I can heal anything, or so they say. That is not true. I cannot cure a broken heart, or shattered spirits. I cannot cure a cat of death. I saved the Clan from greencough single pawed. I am a legendary healer, or so they say. I am not. I am the worst healer. I am the medicine cat who saw a disease growing in a cat, and refused to treat it. I am the harbringer of Death. My name is Cedardusk, and my life is a lie. They say that under me, heroes can never die. So what happens to the cat who is convinced they are a villain?

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My name is Palefrost. I am the best hunter in ThunderClan. I catch anything or so they say. That is not true. I cannot catch the ocean, or the skies above. I cannot catch the wind that took my friend away. I hunted my Clan a way through an epidemic, alone. I am a honored hunter, or so they say. I am not. I am the shadow of a hawk. I am the fear that washes over preys heart when they see me. I hunt because it is the only way I can kill honorably. I am the servant of Famine. My name is Palefrost and my life is a lie. Behind me, I leave a trail of fresh prey for my Clan. So what happens when I am ready to stop my way of killing? How many will fall before me?

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My name is Hailspots. I am the fastest runner in ThunderClan. I am faster than anything, or so they say. That is not true. I cannot outrun the wind, or lighting that arches across the skies. I cannot out run the rolling thunder of my actions. My Clan has fought many battles, without me, they would have lost most. I am a great runner, or so they say. I am not. I am the slowest green-leaf breeze. I run because I am afraid of everything behind me. I am the child of Cowardice. My name is Hailspots and my life is a lie. They say nothing can catch me if I just run. So what happens when I refuse to run? What will catch up to me then?

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We are the four cats who let another leave. We are the four cats who are praised as legends, but we are nothing but glorified shadows. We are the weak, the cowards, the crazy, the ignorant. Guess which is which. We are the cats who will never be the same, our hearts burdened with glory and disgust. We are the four cats who are nothing but lies and whispered secrets.


	4. Chapter 4: Jumppaw

**Requested by XxIronmaniacxX! Here is Jumppaw's thoughts, remember, you can request a chapter!**

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My father is the leader of my Clan. My mother is the hated pariah of it. I am a semi-respected member of a Clan that I hate. Who am I? My name is Jumppaw, and I was named after a psychopath and serial killer. No, my father, _Elmstar the Mad_ probably wouldn't have named me that if he knew. Although it's possible he would have anyway. He is mad. But I'm not here to talk about my father, I'm here to talk about a cat made of shadows and heart break with eyes the color of poison. Jumpstorm.

I first met her on accident, her eyes full of wonder and sorrow. She moved over the ground like she was gliding, paws silent and tail waving languidly without the rustle of a blade of grass. There was a faint scent of Twolegplace and blood in the air.

"Excuse me." I mewed politely, knowing that it was my duty as a ThunderClan cat to remind them that this was our territory. Besides, she was standing in a patch of mint. I needed that mint. Her movement was harsh, a quick spin and her green eyes were trained on me.

"Elmfoot?" Her voice was cautious.

"That's my father." I corrected her, and rambled on about how I was named, trying to forget how much her eyes looked like Greenlight's.

Bowling me over in a swift leap I didn't see coming, I came face-to-face with an angry she-cat with eyes that were bottomless.

"Don't tell anyone you saw me and I'll spare your life." her breath smelled like blood. Not prey-blood, but cat-blood. "Go back to camp, ask Elmfoot about that story. Then come back here. I'll find you."

"But how will I find you?" I saw an unreadable emotion flicker across her face, and my whole body tensed. What if she killed me? I don't want to die!

"I'll find you." Her voice was ice. The let me go and melted into the shadows, pelt blurring and fading into them until nothing. Naturally, I turned and went back to camp.

"Where's the mint?" Was Cedardusk's first question, not even looking up from sorting herbs.

"Oh...I forgot..." My reply caused the she-cat to look up. With a shriek, I leaped back. My mentor's eyes were green, poison green!

"What?" She tilted her head and her golden eyes were back.

"I thought I saw..." My voice trailed as she snorted.

"Help me sort these herbs, and then if you can name all of them and their uses, you can go free for the rest of the day."

Waterberry, mint, sorrel, poppy seeds, daisy leaves for Sunfeather, burnet and tansy, also for Sunfeather. The golden tom had fallen the other day, claiming he had seen a dead cat walking. Mouse-brain, that's what he gets for walking on the edge of the slopes with the sun in his eyes. The herbs had taken the most part of the afternoon, especially after I confused funnel's two uses with that of horsetail's. I tried to avoid the rosemary, watermint and pine sap. I don't want to bury another cat. My heart aches for Greenlight.

"Good." Cedardusk's voice was approving, and I slipped out of the den into the fading twilight. For a moment, the shadows by the apprentices den seemed to shift, and green eyes gleamed at me. Then Darkpaw slid out of the den, green eyes lighting up.

"Hey Jumppaw!" The older apprentice greeted me. "How's Sunfeather? I swear that tom is like a kit."

Purring with amusement, I let the young she-cat escort me to the fresh-kill pile, her black-and-silver pelt rippling.

"He's fine," I told her. "Your mentor will be back on his paws in time for you to get your warrior assessment done with Dawnpaw and Yarrowpaw."

"Good." she said, sighing with relief. "I'm kinda worried about where Rippletail is going every night though..."

Content to discuss the handsome silver tom with her, I completely forgot about Jumpstorm. That is, until I saw her again. Her fur was stained with blood, and her white fangs were bared in a fighting snarl. Gleaming claws snagged on Mapleshadow's fur as the dark queen came down to mourn her lost daughter. Lizardtail stood by too, his green eyes the same as the cat lying in the middle of our den. I thought I was free from her, fur blurring and fading and green eyes flashing. From slender claws and bloody fangs. That night was the last peaceful one I had.

 _"Who's there" My voice echoed into the rotting trees. "Who are you?"_

 _I could feel eyes on my pelt, and I spun. There she stood, pelt free from blood and eyes full of clarity._

 _"Thank you." Her voice wasn't scratchy anymore, but smooth and rich like Twoleg cream. Not like I've ever tried it, not ever. Nope, not me. Nope nope nope._

 _"For what?" My voice wavered._

 _"Giving me another chance." she vaguely waved her tail at the trees. "I never got to live when I was alive. Meeting you changed that. I realized where I truly belonged was-"_

 _A fetid wind picked up. My nose twitched. The smell of smoke and burning meat drifted across the air and Jumpstorm shifted her paws and her eyes darted nervously about._

 _"She's here." Green eyes bored into mine. "Leave."_

 _"Who's here?" I screamed at the faded tortoiseshell, but the dark forest was gone, and I was standing in glowing meadow, a brown cat beside me._

 _"It's best if you didn't see that kitten." She murmured, amber eyes filled with grief._

 _"Who are you?" I asked, she looked so familiar!  
_

 _"My name is Meadowpath." For a moment her brown eyes flickered to green. "And it's time for you to wake."_

 _"Wait-"_

And I am sitting upright in my nest, Cedardusk snoring softly in the corner and moonbeams bathing me in their chilly light. As my racing heart slowed, I cautiously shuffled out of my nest, moss clinging to my pelt.

"Where were you supposed to be?" I murmured to the air, a single shaft of moonlight flooding the clearing. The shaft of light only flickered and vanished from the clearing in response as a cloud drifted over the moon.

A slight wind picked up, and I could faintly hear the sounds of a cat laughing, and the scent of burning meat briefly touched me then was gone. For a moment, the two bdding morning glories that hung across the nursery looked like eyes, then all was still.

 _The Dark Forest._ The voice was smooth, but there was the cough of fluid-filled lungs too. _Greenlight says hello, Jumppaw._


	5. Chapter 5: Rumors

**Requested by ReallyBoredFanfictionWriter! I present to you, Jumpstorm's mother and father! I'm so sorry this is sooooooooo late and sooooooo short, but I'm updating this twice today so I guess it's not as bad as it could be?**

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The warm green-leaf sun filters through the canopy of green maple leaves, and a single bright beam, thin and shaky threads its way down onto a mound of freshly turned soil. A black cat looks on, orange eyes filled with sorrow, and a white tom stands by, grey patches fading and melding with the rest of his pelt.

"Why?" It's the black cat, claws kneading the soil. "Why did she have to go like this?"

"StarClan willed it." The white tom's mew is heavy with exhaustion. "Mapleshadow, you can't keep blaming-"

"She died so young!" The black queen wailed, orange eyes screwed up. "My precious kit, oh my beautiful, beautiful kit. We've lost so many this season, Greenlight to battle in new-leaf, Roseheart to foxes in the same moon, and now Jumpstorm!

"I know, I know." The tom soothed, stroking her flank with a gentle tail-tip. "Just let it out."

"She-she was going to become leader." Mapleshadow confessed. "Remember how she would leap and play in the wind?"

"She chased leaves." The purr is strangled, the white tom's green eyes swimming with grief. "And then she would let them go and ask us to catch them for her."

"When she first tried fresh-kill-" Mapleshadow began.

"She choked on a feather." The tom chuckled, remembering how the kit had hacked and wheezed and then wailed, complaining that she was going to die.

"Oh Lizardtail, do you think that we failed as parents?" Mapleshadow stared at the grave.

"No." Lizardtail murmured. "No."

The two cats stared at the mound of earth, the faint scents of rosemary and pine sap still lingering.

"Should we- should we go?" Lizardtail asked hesitantly.

Mapleshadow made a noncommittal grunt and allowed her mate to guide her away. For a moment, a faint apparition of a cat, pelt patched black, grey and white, eyes a somber green flickered in and out of existence, leaving only a spiraling maple leaf to land on top of the tomb.

Seasons passed, cat were born, cats were killed. But quietly, undisturbed, a delicate sapling curls up from the ground, it's trunk separating into four branches. It's rumored, that if a cat passes there alone on a Gathering night, they might catch a glimpse of a black-white-and-grey cat sitting in the branches of the tree. It's also rumored that the red roses growing around the tree are only red because of the blood that drips off this cat's paws.


	6. Chapter 6: Roseheart

**I wanted to write this, so you're getting Roseheart.**

* * *

We see all, we follow the cats who hearts still beat with life and whose veins still shed blood. We are all knowing, all seeing, all powerful. Lies. We all care about ourselves more than the living. Our own safety comes first. Once, StarClan rallied and drove out the black taint that was the Dark Forest, now, it grows, our back turned to it. Some have chosen to return to the world of the living, so become the newest generation of fighters and defenders. My name is Roseheart, and I will tell you how my choice came to be. Oh, don't be like that. I am not evil. No? You don't believe me? Fine. Then I must share my story too.

 _"Sit up straighter Rosekit. You're making a bad impression." I._

 _"Smooth your fur down Rosekit. You look like a rouge." Was._

 _"Is that how Dustheart taught you? Pah! With that crouch, you'll never amount to anything!" Never._

 _"You'll never be pretty enough to attract a mate." Good._

 _"Roseheart? More like Mouseheart." Enough._

Look at Rosekit, sneer at Rosekit, mock Rosekit, shame Rosepaw, humiliate Rosepaw, ignore Roseheart. Is it any wonder that I wanted to be loved, cherished, _secure with the knowledge that someone loved me?_ I became an apprentice, and life was good. I did well enough, coming second or third in everything.

 _"Want some help?" Only._

 _"Wow! Great catch!" I._

 _"You look fine." Fell._

 _"I'll be here for you." For._

 _"Rainblossom is a bad mother. I am a good friend." The._

 _"Promise?" One._

 _"You're not going to be left behind." Tom._

 _"I'll talk to you later." I._

 _"Roseheart? Do you think Jumpstorm likes me?" Couldn't._

 _"You're a good friend Roseheart, but I've gotta go." Have._

Roses have thorns. The flower is what's desirable, but my thorns were a bigger risk than my heart was a prize. Sometimes I wished I had friends, then I remembered that no matter what I did, they would silently judge the cat who held herself differently. Then Jumpstorm ran away, and I was relieved. Because no matter how much Elmfoot seemed to love me, I could see in his eyes, he only truly cared about Jumpstorm. With her out of the way, he should be content with me right? No. That's not how it happened, not at all. Instead, I saw the light in his eyes fade. His love for Jumpstorm and his sense of duty to me splitting him. So, I made the hardest decision I could have ever made.

 _"I'm not going to be your mate anymore." I made my tone as flat and neutral as I could. His handsome face screwed up into a knot of confusion._

 _"Wha- why?" His amber eyes were filled with pain, just like my heart._

 _"You're lost in your head, obsessing over a dead cat. There's no more room in your heart for me now." I spat the words out, knowing that I had to make it as brutal as possible. Then, turning quickly so he couldn't see the anguish in my eyes, I marched away._

I admit it, I tried to fall in love again. But no tom's pelt was the right shade of brown, his eyes the exact shade of amber. There was no reservoir of strength and courage behind their eyes as big.

 _"Go die." It was whispered, almost inaudible. It pierced my heart, going straight through the thorn barrier that held back the flood of tears._

 _"You don't deserve to live." So._

 _"Death would be too kind too you." I._

 _"Dark Forest mange." Did._

Here I am. In StarClan, knowing that no matter where I go, no matter where I hide, I cannot escape. I am not meant to be loved, to stay in a place long enough to call it home. So I sit. I watch. I wait. I am one of the first barriers that the Dark Forest is to fell, but I will not go down without a fight. Jumpstorm and I are one and the same. Both felt unloved, but she chose to leave, and I chose to stay. And I fell to death first. I'm not going to be Roseheart any longer. _Rebirth is how I die._

 _"Isn't she the prettiest thing? My daughter."_

 _"She is, Skyheart. She is."_


	7. Chapter 7: Rainblossom

***Cackles* If I've done this right, people will be angry at me!**

* * *

Oh yes. You've finally got your villain. Me. Rainblossom. You've heard Roseheart's sob story- she was never _good enough_. I never _cared about her_. What a load of fox dung. I cared- I cared too much. My other daughter- Hailspots, is the splitting image of me. Silver pelt with dappling, clear blue eyes. Now Roseheart- she's the opposite. She's the splitting image of my mate- Redclaw. Oh, my heart aches for him. Whenever I see her, my vision is over laid with how he acted, how he looked. And Roseheart, without realizing it, acted exactly like him.

 _"Pathetic runt." I was the runt._

 _"Ugly, tiny, weak scrap of fox dung." The reminder that she was growing old._

 _"I bet you'll end up dead before your apprentice ceremony." Her splitting image._

 _"Don't play with the other kits. You'll give them fleas or something." Banished where she didn't have to face my existence._

 _"Why would you ever think that you could be better alive than dead?" Everyone thought I went off on my own willingly._

 _I was forced._

 _All of these things Silvermist said to me. All things that made me stop and think- why am I being told these things when no one else is? Is there something wrong with me?_

And I will be the first to admit that; _yes I didn't have the best maternal examples and I was not a good mother in any way._ My mother- Silvermist, gave birth to me and Hickoryfrost and my brother- Sandtooth, and then pretty much ignored them and picked on me. The other queens couldn't find it in them to correct her or me. My whole life has been built on _if you don't show pain, no one will ever know. No one cares about you or what you think and do._ Keep your anger, fear, jealousy, happiness, sadness locked inside. It's a storm of emotions in my heart, and only one cat has been able to bring the sun. _Redclaw._ Rogue turned Clanmate, he was the only one who sat down next to me, the proud, high-strung she-cat and say; _"I can see you're hurting. Don't bother to hide the emotions that make you beautiful."_ And I looked at him in surprise, _because no one had ever bothered to say that. No one ever bothered to say; "Hey, you don't look so good. Wanna talk about it?"_

And then,

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I could be _me._ Not the angry, snarling apprentice, and later warrior that everyone expected me to be because that was how I acted when I was younger. Everyone liked _Hickoryfrost_ better, and overlooked me. Redclaw looked at me and said-

 _"Your pelt looks like all the stars in the sky."_

 _"You are important to me."_

 _"Just spending time with you makes me happy."_

And my personal favorite:

 _"I'd never replace you with someone else."_

We fought side-by-side for years, and I trusted him with my life when the approaching shadows of other cats made me tense up and words run through my head- _what did I do wrong? Who did I make angry?_ Eventually, I learned that my Clan was there for me, I was safe with the cats there, I could trust them not to hurt me like I expected them too. Sandtooth and Mistbreeze, his mate talked to me more. Nightleap made it a point to share tongues me everyday. Mistbreeze's sister, Jaypool brought me prey and apologized for treating me the way she did. _I was happy._

 _"Redclaw?"_

 _"Yes Rainblossom?" He instantly turned to look at me._

 _"I'm scared."_

 _"Of what?"_

 _"What if...what if I treat our kits like Silvermist treated me?" Even so long after the deranged she-cat finally died, I still worried and fretted- how would cats treat me if they saw my insecurities or fears? Would I ever be good enough to be a good Clanmate?_

 _He was silent._

 _"I would say something reassuring, like "you know that's not going to happen", but you want actual answers, not empty promises."_

 _He understood that. Other queens would be satisfied with "it's all going to be okay" or "nothing is going to happen to them". I_ needed _to know what was going to happen, not that it was all going to be all right and ShadowClan would descend from the pines and share tongues._

 _"But I can tell you this- you are not, because you are better than her." Taking a look at me face he added; "But if it comes to it, I'll stop you."_

 _That was all I needed at the time, but it never occurred to me- he wouldn't be there._

One SkyClan attack on our camp later, his body was lying in a pool of his blood, and I was standing over a creamy SkyClan tom and sinking my fangs into his throat. _This is what you get. You take my mate from me, and I will kill each and every one of you filthy mousehearts and string your corpse where your kits can see._

 _And then;_

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 _Days blurred into nights, nights into moons. I looked at my kits and saw what my mother saw. Burdens to her, burdens to me. I felt hatred rise up in me-_ your fault, your fault, your fault. And I was scared. I wanted my kits to be loved, have a family, with a mother and a father who doted on them. Now, they were getting a mother who didn't care for them, no matter how hard she tried, and a father who could only watch from the stars. So I distanced myself. Hailkit got the message- you aren't wanted near me. She had the relatively normal kithood, surrounded by friends and adopted mothers. Rosekit, on the other hand, couldn't get it thought her skull! she followed me everywhere, demanding to be treated like the other queens treated their kits. But I had no love to give. Only sorrow and pain and anger and hate. So that's what I gave her. And I became what I feared. Now, I can see her and that patched she-cat- Jumpstorm arguing over a tom who only loved one of them. And I weep, because all of this would have been avoided if I hadn't fell in love, if I hadn't had kits, Roseheart would have never had a mother like me, Hailspots would get the family she deserved, Elmfoot would get to love without worrying about everyone else. All of this is my fault, all because a she-cat hurting over some measly words her mother said fell in love with a dashing rogue. This is all my fault. This is my punishment, to be surrounded by my mistakes, to know that they would never accept my apologizes. To look at the stars and know that the only one who I loved probably hates me now. So yes, I am your villain. Now leave me be.


	8. Chapter 8: Redclaw

**Requested by ApolloKitty!**

* * *

When I was began my life, my mother started ending hers. When I was eight moons, and me and my brother left to find our own paths in life, she left to find her own path in the stars.

 _"Why do we have to keep moving?" Wasp moaned, shaking his paws and flopping down. We had been moving the whole day. "We could make our home here, by the river." He flicked his tail at the slow moving expanse. His grey tabby pelt and green eyes put him in opposite to my dark ginger pelt and brown eyes, but we did reasonably well._

 _"Because it's...lacking something..." I murmured. I knew he could feel it too. The deep longing for something that I couldn't explain. So we kept moving._

When we were twelve moons, we came to a lake, and cats flowed out of the maples to hiss and spit at us. But I saw something that day. Something I hadn't seen before. Cooperation, love, trust on a large scale. As rouges, we saw it at in one or two cats at a time. Now, there were at least five cats who demonstrated it, and from the way they talked, even more we hadn't met. All of this, I longed for. But I longed to wander in the wind and explore too. Then, like StarClan itself made the decision for me-

 _Cardinal fell ill and I met Rainpaw. Love at first sight, if you believe in that._

 _"Get off of our territory, rogue!" Blue eyes stared deep into my own brown._

 _"I mean no harm!" I wailed, letting her see how my claws were sheathed and my fur was flat. "It's my brother, he's sick! Please, help him!"_

 _The bigger cat next to her- Ivyheart, I later learned- studied me. I shivered as her eyes bored into my pelt._

 _"He smells of sickness, though faint." The brown she-cat decided. "Rainpaw, inform Ottersong that he will have a patient."_

 _"Yes Ivyheart." The dappled she-cat ran off, and I could feel the shadows growing darker without her presence._

At thirteen moons, I had lost my brother and joined a Clan. At fourteen moons, I had fallen for a blue-eyed she-cat who's heart was frozen. At fifteen moons, her heart had thawed. At sixteen moons, I watched as she lost her mother. At eighteen moons I had friends. At nineteen moons, I formally gave her my heart. At twenty moons she gave me hers back. At twenty-three moons I had a warrior name. At twenty-five moons, I learned the meaning of home. At twenty-eight, I had a mate who was pregnant. At thirty, I had become a father. At thirty-one, I died defending my family.

 _"Ragh!" The SkyClan tom bowled me over. I was missing most of my fur, my right eye was swollen, and one of my paws was missing most of its claws. But I got up and charged back at him._

 _"For ThunderClan!" I heard Molepelt roar._ For Rainblossom _. I chanted silently, clawing feebly at the SkyClan tom._ For Rainblossom, Rainblossom, Rnblossm, Rnbssm, _Rainblossom._

The last thing I saw was the creamy tom being ripped off of me, and my mate standing above him in a blaze of silvery rage, moonlight making her look like StarClan's power incarnate. _They should have named her Rainblaze..._

At thirty-two moons, I saw my mate sink farther into depression. At thirty-three moons, I saw her first suicide attempt. At thirty-four moons, I realized that she couldn't see me and I couldn't walk in her dreams. At thirty-five moons, I saw her heart freeze over again. At thirty-six moons, I saw her transform her sadness into anger. At thirty-seven moons, I saw her walk with new purpose. At thirty-eight moons, I saw her hunt and permanently injure an innocent SkyClan apprentice. At thirty-nine moons, I saw her second suicide attempt. At forty moons, she faded from my sight.

 _"Rainblossom." I dabbed my paw into the Starpool. "Rainblossom. Rainblossom!"_

 _The Starpool stayed empty._

 _"Enough." Ottersong sat down next to me. The old medicine cat had died from heart failure when I was still an apprentice. "She's faded from us."_

 _"What does that mean?" I demanded, splashing the water in frustration._

 _"It means she has chosen the path of the Dark Forest." Ottersong mewed simply._

 _"Rainblossom would never do that!"_

 _"Not willingly, but her heart and soul are no longer possessing the qualities of a warrior."_

 _"She is just as much of a warrior as I am!"_

 _"You died a young warrior, with love in your heart. She will die an elder, with sadness and rage in her heart."_

I never did see her again. But I watched as my daughters grew up, one silver dappled who was trying to urge her friend to accept that she loved. The other, solid red, who was trying to convince her friend that he didn't love. I watched as Hailspots friend, Lizardtail's daughter loved. I watched as Roseheart's friend, Stonejaw's son, loved too. I watched as Jumpstorm felt the longing, to leave, to move, to have nothing and no one holding her back. I watched as she left, and then she faded from me too. I watched as Elmfoot had kits, a family, only for him to fade from my sight too. I watched as Roseheart vanished and Hailspots blurred. I was fifty-seven moons when the last of my family vanished from my sight and appeared next to me.

 _Dark Forest;_

 _Rainblossom, for hate and sorrow._

 _StarClan;_

 _Roseheart, for belief in the warrior code and honorable death._

 _StarClan;_

 _Hailspots, for a good life and death through greencough._

 _StarClan;_

 _Redclaw, for love and courage._

I'd finally gotten what I wanted, my family by my side and happy. But I would give all of it up, just to see Rainblossom again. To apologize for what I did to her. The Dark Forest always wins in the end.


	9. Chapter 9: Sandtooth

My name is Sandtooth.

I am a warrior of StarClan.

You have heard Rainblossom's story, all about her, just how she was in life.

This is my story.

The story of an old elder and warrior.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandkit.

I am the only tom in a litter of she-cats.

You have heard their stories.

This is my story.

Birth, I sit and play with the other toms.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandpaw.

I am one of the strongest apprentices.

You have yet to hear their stories.

This is my story.

Learning, I try to catch the eye of a grey she-cat.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, young warrior.

I am prancing and preening with the toms, trying to catch the eyes of the she-cats.

You have yet to hear their stories.

This is my story.

Loving, I flirt and prance for this grey she-cat.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, proud father.

I am glowing and purring, adoring my daughter.

You have heard her story.

This is no longer mine.

Saddened, I mourn my fallen friend, Redclaw.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, scarred warrior of ThunderClan.

I train my apprentice to put aside emotions, to serve his Clan first.

You have heard his story.

This is no longer mine.

Anguished, I watch as my daughter's closest friend left her.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, helpless father of a huntress.

I lead search parties and track Jumpstorm day and night.

You have heard her story.

This is no longer mine.

Disappointed, I reflected on the bright kit who my daughter played with. In the moon before she left, her eyes were dark, clouded with unfathomable emotion.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, confused senior warrior.

I follow my deputy's very word, but the outcome always ends up wrong.

You will not hear their stories.

This is the wrong one.

Mourning, I cry for simpler days, where the deputy was a warrior striving to do his best, and we never found that body on the Thunderpath.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, frightened senior warrior.

My leader was once my apprentice, and he wages war.

You know the story.

This is the darkened version.

Terrified, I try to sleep, try to ignore the wails of dying cats in my ears.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, newest elder of ThunderClan.

Mistbreeze is dying of disease.

I try to tell her story.

No one listens.

Distraught, I go to sleep, never to see her again.

That is my life.

* * *

My name is Sandtooth, weakened elder.

I am dying of old age.

This is my story.

Everyone mocks it.

Exhausted, I wait for the end, where I can see my mate again.

That was my life.

* * *

I am Sandtooth, debated soul.

Dark Forest for killing. StarClan for following my leader.

I try to tell them my story.

They listen.

Satisfied, I watch as they come to a conclusion.

This is my life, eternal paradise.

* * *

I am Sandtooth, warrior for StarClan.

I lived by claw and fang in life, and I do so in the after.

I try to tell the stories of the Dark Forest cats I kill.

Cats listen, cats ignore.

Spiralling, I sink claw and fang into the necks of all before me.

This is my life.

* * *

I am Sandtooth, killer of scores.

I wage war in the name of StarClan.

I no longer try to tell stories.

Cats do not care.

Lost, I go into battle one last time.

It is against Jumpstorm. A slit to the neck I never saw coming, and I fall.

I hope she tells my story.


End file.
